Amphastar Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMPH) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMPH) have been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the eight research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $31.00.

A number of brokerages have issued reports on AMPH. Zacks Research cut Amphastar Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 14th. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $30.00 price objective for the company. Needham & Company LLC lowered their target price on shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals from $36.00 to $34.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, December 29th.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Floyd F. Petersen sold 2,426 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.92, for a total transaction of $62,881.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 71,368 shares in the company, valued at $1,849,858.56. The trade was a 3.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Rong Zhou sold 9,787 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.20, for a total value of $256,419.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 138,043 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,616,726.60. This represents a 6.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 13,950 shares of company stock valued at $363,925 in the last three months. 27.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Amphastar Pharmaceuticals

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of AMPH. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in Amphastar Pharmaceuticals by 28.7% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 501,404 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,428,000 after purchasing an additional 111,811 shares during the period. Vident Advisory LLC raised its position in shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals by 10.7% during the fourth quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 20,409 shares of the company’s stock valued at $547,000 after buying an additional 1,978 shares during the last quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,394,463 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,344,000 after buying an additional 40,536 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in Amphastar Pharmaceuticals by 10.8% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 165,907 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,443,000 after buying an additional 16,112 shares in the last quarter. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd bought a new position in Amphastar Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,302,000. 65.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Amphastar Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

NASDAQ AMPH opened at $27.55 on Tuesday. Amphastar Pharmaceuticals has a fifty-two week low of $20.39 and a fifty-two week high of $32.69. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $27.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $27.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 3.12 and a quick ratio of 2.21. The firm has a market cap of $1.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.20 and a beta of 0.88.

Amphastar Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Amphastar Pharmaceuticals, Inc is a specialty pharmaceutical company headquartered in Rancho Cucamonga, California. Founded in 2004, Amphastar focuses on the development, manufacturing and commercialization of injectable and inhalation products. The company’s manufacturing facilities in California produce both generic and proprietary formulations designed to address urgent and chronic medical conditions.

Amphastar’s portfolio includes a range of injectable generics such as epinephrine, naloxone and lidocaine, serving hospital, emergency medical and retail pharmacy channels.